Pimlico Needs An Auxiliary Finish Line

[Thomas Roulston]

Pimlico's stretch is 1,152 feet long - 3 feet shorter than Oaklawn, which does use an auxiliary finish line.

Not having an available distance between 6 furlongs and 1 1/16 miles on the dirt must really hurt Pimlico.

So while they're banning Lasix at Pimlico, is it too much to ask of the Stronachs to give us 1-mile dirt races there? And it would also mean that if a 1-mile grass race is taken off the turf, it could be run on the main track at 1 mile instead of 1 1/16 miles.

[Tom]

They only race a couple of weeks every year - and that will soon end,

Why bother?

[Thomas Roulston]

It's down to a couple of weeks every year now?

In that case, why bother even keeping the track open.

[cj]

It's down to a couple of weeks every year now?

In that case, why bother even keeping the track open.

The Preakness.

[Thomas Roulston]

I thought they had a fall meeting as well.

And if both Southern California and Northern California can survive with only one track, I suppose that Maryland can too. :(

[cj]

I thought they had a fall meeting as well.

And if both Southern California and Northern California can survive with only one track, I suppose that Maryland can too. :(

Not any more, been gone for a few years at least.

[Thomas Roulston]

I know it won't happen if the Preakness is moved to Laurel, but if it is moved there the distance should be lengthened to 1 3/8 miles, so as to provide a logical progression between the 1 1/4 miles of the Derby and the 1 1/2 miles of the Belmont.

This will also lead to fewer horses that closed in the Derby but didn't win skipping the Preakness. The extra furlong will make their connections think they can win.

[castaway01]

I know it won't happen if the Preakness is moved to Laurel, but if it is moved there the distance should be lengthened to 1 3/8 miles, so as to provide a logical progression between the 1 1/4 miles of the Derby and the 1 1/2 miles of the Belmont.

This will also lead to fewer horses that closed in the Derby but didn't win skipping the Preakness. The extra furlong will make their connections think they can win.

The Preakness has been run at 1 3/16 or shorter (as short as a mile) for 125 years. Why would you change it now?

[dilanesp]

The Preakness has been run at 1 3/16 or shorter (as short as a mile) for 125 years. Why would you change it now?

Yeah, (1) it's not changing, (2) 1 3/16 miles is actually a perfect distance to run over a 9 furlong track and (3) even if you did want to change the distance (which you don't), you would actually want to make it shorter so the TC was a greater test of versatility.

[thaskalos]

For a true "test of versatility"...I think the Preakness should be reduced to 7 furlongs.

[stuball]

5 1/2 F on the grass

[dilanesp]

For a true "test of versatility"...I think the Preakness should be reduced to 7 furlongs.

Nahh, it should be left the way it is. It isn't sacrosanct-- Sir Barton's Belmont was 11 furlongs and one TC winner won the Preakness before the Derby. But it's been this way long enough that it won't change.

But I do think the one weakness of the TC is the Preakness is too much like the Derby. Which you can see from the fact that so many Derby winners win the Preakness and a number of Derby EXACTAS have come through in the Preakness as well. If I were designing something from scratch, I probably would make one of the races a sprint. :)

[Tom]

I thought they had a fall meeting as well.



Not any longer, but they might have a ceiling "fall" in the grandstand. :eek:

[Run Nicholas Run]

For a true "test of versatility"...I think the Preakness should be reduced to 7 furlongs.


:D:D:D:lol::lol::lol::lol:

your funnier than Jay Mohr!:headbanger:

[gheuks]

The fall meet was my favorite. Empty infield. You could actually see the races.

[Clocker]

They only race a couple of weeks every year - and that will soon end,

Why bother?
I didn't realize how short is was. I just looked, and their "season" is 12 racing days. How can it be cost effective to spend the money to get a track ready for 12 days?

Stronach owns Pimlico and Laurel. The company seems intent on moving the race to Laurel, but says it would not be ready to do so in time for the 2020 race.

Maryland law directs that the Preakness may only be transferred to another in-state track "as a result of disaster or emergency." It further stipulates that if the Preakness is transferred out-of-state, the state racing commission "may revoke any racing days awarded" to the Maryland Jockey Club and award them to a different company.A law suit, filed by Mayor Catherine Pugh on behalf of the city, seeks to prevent the company from moving the Preakness to Laurel Park and seeks to take ownership of Pimlico via condemnation. Under the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution, governments may seize private property "for public use" as long as they pay "just compensation."

Baltimore City has a bill pending in the state legislature that would create a study group to determine how to fund a new Pimlico, which the Maryland Stadium Authority suggested in December would cost more than $400 million. If Pimlico is a mess now, imagine if the City of Baltimore was running it. :eek:



https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/232630/a-closer-look-at-baltimore-suit-against-stronach-group

[dilanesp]

I didn't realize how short is was. I just looked, and their "season" is 12 racing days. How can it be cost effective to spend the money to get a track ready for 12 days?

Stronach owns Pimlico and Laurel. The company seems intent on moving the race to Laurel, but says it would not be ready to do so in time for the 2020 race.

A law suit, filed by Mayor Catherine Pugh on behalf of the city, seeks to prevent the company from moving the Preakness to Laurel Park and seeks to take ownership of Pimlico via condemnation. Under the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution, governments may seize private property "for public use" as long as they pay "just compensation."

If Pimlico is a mess now, imagine if the City of Baltimore was running it. :eek:



https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/232630/a-closer-look-at-baltimore-suit-against-stronach-group

The lawsuit is BS. Stronach can run the race wherever he wants. The only possible issue is he might have to change the name of it.

[elhelmete]

Pimlico's stretch is 1,152 feet long - 3 feet shorter than Oaklawn, which does use an auxiliary finish line.

Not having an available distance between 6 furlongs and 1 1/16 miles on the dirt must really hurt Pimlico.

So while they're banning Lasix at Pimlico, is it too much to ask of the Stronachs to give us 1-mile dirt races there? And it would also mean that if a 1-mile grass race is taken off the turf, it could be run on the main track at 1 mile instead of 1 1/16 miles.

And a mule needs a spinning wheel.

(credit to Lyle Langley)

[TheGarMan]

An auxiliary finish line?

I would be happy with a roof that doesn't leak on me.. :lol:

[Tom]

The lawsuit is BS. Stronach can run the race wherever he wants. The only possible issue is he might have to change the name of it.

How about "Not Baltimore's Preakness!" :lol:

[Tom]

An auxiliary finish line?

I would be happy with a roof that doesn't leak on me.. :lol:

Pimlico is my favorite track. Been there a few times.
Even considering the slanted floor in the ground floor men's room that sometimes creates a tide, but not of water! :eek:

Love the place.
Can't wait for 12 days of live racing.
From at home, in my dry handicapping room! ;)

[cj]

Pimlico is my favorite track. Been there a few times.
Even considering the slanted floor in the ground floor men's room that sometimes creates a tide, but not of water! :eek:

Love the place.
Can't wait for 12 days of live racing.
From at home, in my dry handicapping room! ;)

Can't tell you how many times I caught the bus/subway/shuttle combo to get to Pimlico from Brooklyn. It was 15 miles away and took me 90 minutes. Always got my handicapping in on the way.

[Tom]

Coming there from FL, it was the "big league!"
It just feels like a real racetrack.
I would love to make one more trip there.

[Afleet]

been to 3 Preakness stakes-always liked it. The ceilings were leaking in the 90's when I was there. Saw Andy Beyer one year. I sat in the now condemned section of the grandstands and stepped through one of the wooden steps-thought I was going to get swollowed up! And I was much thinner then;)

[Thomas Roulston]

Yeah, (1) it's not changing, (2) 1 3/16 miles is actually a perfect distance to run over a 9 furlong track and (3) even if you did want to change the distance (which you don't), you would actually want to make it shorter so the TC was a greater test of versatility.


Pimlico is a 1-mile track - not a 9-furlong track.

[dilanesp]

Pimlico is a 1-mile track - not a 9-furlong track.

I was referring to if it moved to LRL.

[Tom]

been to 3 Preakness stakes-always liked it. The ceilings were leaking in the 90's when I was there. Saw Andy Beyer one year. I sat in the now condemned section of the grandstands and stepped through one of the wooden steps-thought I was going to get swollowed up! And I was much thinner then;)

They were leaking in 1979!

[PhantomOnTour]

I'll be back again this year, but it may be the last time for us.
Dad just can't navigate that huge Sat crowd anymore. Two knee replacements, 78yrs old, and those sloped floors and concourses give him real trouble.
It's bittersweet and almost brings a tear to my eye....21yrs we've been going, and the thought of moving the race saddens me. We surely will not attend a Preakness at Laurel.

We'll make the best of it this year and pray that when we leave on Sat evening that it will not have been our last trip to Pimlico, and the last racing trip I take with my brother and father, whom I love so much.

I can't wait to sit next to dad in that dump just a few more times
:(

[Robert Fischer]

They were leaking in 1979!

That was my first Preakness. Spectacular Bid...

3 months old, infield at the 1/8 pole w/ father, mother, uncle, friends.

Supposedly the infield crowd✌️🎸🍺🐎 was pushing towards the vantage point before/during the race.

*Spoiler* I survived. ;)

[Zman179]

I always go to Pimlico, but on one of the other days not involving the Preakness. There’s nothing like going to an old time racetrack. I just never thought years ago that Pimlico would be part of the "leaky roof circuit" :p

[Thomas Roulston]

The virtually non-existent run-up for 6-furlong races is regarded by many as a major drawback at Pimlico. A track record of 1:09 for 6f? It gives Pimlico a "Mickey Mouse" aura: The track record for 6 furlongs at Turf Paradise - Turf Paradise! - is 1:06 2/5 (actually 1:06.49).

And at least The Racetrack Formerly Known As Calder (Gulfstream Park West) - 6f track record: 1:08 3/5 (1:08.72) - has one of the safest dirt surfaces in the industry.

Is Pimlico noted for its safety?

Somehow I doubt that Barbaro's owner thinks so.

[BlueChip@DRF]

Maybe they need to install an auxiliary grandstand.

[Tom]

That was my first Preakness. Spectacular Bid...

3 months old, infield at the 1/8 pole w/ father, mother, uncle, friends.

Supposedly the infield crowd✌️🎸🍺🐎 was pushing towards the vantage point before/during the race.

*Spoiler* I survived. ;)

Oh yeah, I remember you! :cool:

[Zman179]

The virtually non-existent run-up for 6-furlong races is regarded by many as a major drawback at Pimlico. A track record of 1:09 for 6f? It gives Pimlico a "Mickey Mouse" aura: The track record for 6 furlongs at Turf Paradise - Turf Paradise! - is 1:06 2/5 (actually 1:06.49).

And at least The Racetrack Formerly Known As Calder (Gulfstream Park West) - 6f track record: 1:08 3/5 (1:08.72) - has one of the safest dirt surfaces in the industry.

Is Pimlico noted for its safety?

Somehow I doubt that Barbaro's owner thinks so.

You’re comparing apples to oranges. For decades Turf Paradise was as hard as concrete, $3,500 claimers there were doing 1:08.2 on the regular. Heck, YOU could run 1:09 there! But they had to completely renovate the track because when it would rain the track would become a quagmire, most of the times they would have to cancel. I remember one day when I was there and I watched a one mile allowance race on a wet track labeled slow (Bob Weems was calling there, that’s how long ago this was). They went 6f in 1:23.4 and a mile in 1:58. You could barely see the horse’s knees they were in it so deep. They even had days when all of the races would be transferred from the main track to the turf.

[dilanesp]

You’re comparing apples to oranges. For decades Turf Paradise was as hard as concrete, $3,500 claimers there were doing 1:08.2 on the regular. Heck, YOU could run 1:09 there! But they had to completely renovate the track because when it would rain the track would become a quagmire, most of the times they would have to cancel. I remember one day when I was there and I watched a one mile allowance race on a wet track labeled slow (Bob Weems was calling there, that’s how long ago this was). They went 6f in 1:23.4 and a mile in 1:58. You could barely see the horse’s knees they were in it so deep. They even had days when all of the races would be transferred from the main track to the turf.

Was that race a pace or a trot?

[Thomas Roulston]

You’re comparing apples to oranges. For decades Turf Paradise was as hard as concrete, $3,500 claimers there were doing 1:08.2 on the regular. Heck, YOU could run 1:09 there! But they had to completely renovate the track because when it would rain the track would become a quagmire, most of the times they would have to cancel. I remember one day when I was there and I watched a one mile allowance race on a wet track labeled slow (Bob Weems was calling there, that’s how long ago this was). They went 6f in 1:23.4 and a mile in 1:58. You could barely see the horse’s knees they were in it so deep. They even had days when all of the races would be transferred from the main track to the turf.


I was comparing Pimlico to Calder/GPW more than Turf Paradise - and I remember the dirt to turf switches at TuP too.

But just about every A-level track or even B-level track has a faster 6-furlong track record than Pimlico: Monmouth's is 1:07 2/5 (1:07.47), Parx's is 1:07 3/5, even Canterbury Park's is 1:08 (1:08.04).

Are those tracks "hard as concrete" too?

[Robert Fischer]

Oh yeah, I remember you! :cool:

true story

I was the short guy with a bottle of milk and a stack of tickets trying to beat The Bid. :headbanger:


Things have changed.

No longer allow you to bring in your own coolers...
You can't get in along the 1/8 pole like you used to be able to...
and hopefully no one brings an infant to the infield anymore. Not sure what the hell they were thinking. If they on this earth I'd ask. :rolleyes:

The virtually non-existent run-up for 6-furlong races is regarded by many as a major drawback at Pimlico. A track record of 1:09 for 6f? It gives Pimlico a "Mickey Mouse" aura: The track record for 6 furlongs at Turf Paradise - Turf Paradise! - is 1:06 2/5 (actually 1:06.49).

And at least The Racetrack Formerly Known As Calder (Gulfstream Park West) - 6f track record: 1:08 3/5 (1:08.72) - has one of the safest dirt surfaces in the industry.

Is Pimlico noted for its safety?

Somehow I doubt that Barbaro's owner thinks so.

c'mon man *thumbsdown*

[Zman179]

I was comparing Pimlico to Calder/GPW more than Turf Paradise - and I remember the dirt to turf switches at TuP too.

But just about every A-level track or even B-level track has a faster 6-furlong track record than Pimlico: Monmouth's is 1:07 2/5 (1:07.47), Parx's is 1:07 3/5, even Canterbury Park's is 1:08 (1:08.04).

Are those tracks "hard as concrete" too?

Of course not, but those tracks also have the advantage of a running start up to the teletimer beam. Nonetheless, Pimlico will be a bulldozed lot within five years so it makes no sense to make any improvements to it. Stronach wants all of the races at Laurel and I’ll think they’ll eventually get it.